Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Transcendence

Once I worked as a PR writer for an events company. It happened many years ago and the job served as my foray into a career outside our family business. The pay was mediocre but the work environment was glamorous. I got freebies left and right and I forged close bonds with colleagues around me. Since the job merely required to write press articles for events which we put up, I was left idle most of the time. To kill boredom, I slept during office hours or showed up only when I felt doing so.

When I remember those days, I would laugh and shake my head out of embarrassment. How'd I become so thick-faced to allow myself dwell in such habit, only my immaturity would explain. The supervisor would not scold me nor the bosses. They have other things to worry about. Besides, I delivered results with urgency compared to the one I replaced.

Past forward many years later. I was hired in my present job just when I was desperate to find work. I was a pioneer, and the last to remain in the rank and file position. The others have moved on. As to the reason behind my apparent stagnation, one thing was said about my work attitude.

I was too immature to handle my own agents.

To complain being left behind never occurred to me. I was busy with so many things including a race to finish a master's degree and a downward spiral love life that I tried to recover. I never graduated from this notion that we're still a small business struggling to exist. The truth is, we are not. We are growing and those around me were being promoted as well. Perhaps, I had cocooned myself into this belief that I would get a better-paying job should I decide to change career path. But I didn't. I was invested to my company that I chose to stay no matter how tempting other offers were.

Time flew and the next thing I knew, my assistant team leader was pregnant. A replacement was needed and because of the faith my surrogate mother had in me, I was recommended to the officer-in-charge position. I thought it would be a solitary endeavor. But the management was wise enough to make some back-up arrangement. I would be working side by side with another officer that the supervisors probably nominated in the first place.

Judgment day arrived and our performance was scrutinized from a distance. The other officer proved her incompetence by arriving late all the time. Her shortcomings were my salvation for in her absence I learned to run a shift just when a leader needed it most. The boss looked for someone he could depend on and reliability was my best character. There were days I took responsibility of the entire floor, alone, and without proper training to reinforce my leadership. I fared well during those hell days and the reward came when my subordinates freely gave their respect.

Two months after my introduction and the management duties were finally over. The assistant team leader returned to work and I was back to being a lowly agent. I struck a deal to be assigned to another shift, but my request was declined. I insisted that competition for work assignment with my subordinates was non-negotiable, but Mami Athena told me to wait.

Someone of my caliber deserve not to go to waste.

And so the secret days commenced. Basically it was a training, but I felt more like in a boot camp. I often clashed with my trainer, who is also a friend and a mentor. Some pre-emptive decisions were made and she had to clean my shit after. Good thing, my blunders were only minor. Once, I had a harmless small talk with a client which was forbidden. Another time, I told some instructions to subordinates that their supervisors were not aware of. Flustered to the point of resignation, she told me I was a loose cannon and I had to grow up.

She wagered her name on my behalf and here I was tearing down what she built for me to rise up.

"During our last meeting, we brought up the possibility of training someone who would focus on this account, since, most of the supervisors are busy doing some other things." My trainer said during the conference call. As early as September, I was already known to the agents but my moves were crippled. The management still had to introduce me to the client before my official duties begin "He's next to me right now. His name is Knox Galen and I am sure he spoke to some of you before. I hope you would extend your reception to him, like you have given your heartfelt support to us."

Penny-less, sleep-less, and with so much work ahead. This is a time for reflection.

I've always known myself as a late bloomer: a person who only shines just when the race is about to draw close.

19 comments:

Well deserved kuya, well deserved. The mark of a good leader is someone who has the patient capacity to listen. To recognize opportunity when it manifests, and to optimally use the nuanced abilities of your subordinates as equitable as it is encouraging.